Mary Woodin

Mary Woodin RCA is a painter and illustrator who works mainly in watercolour. She is drawn above all to natural subjects, and her work ranges from small landscapes to large florals, alongside birds, animals and still life taken from her garden and the surrounding countryside. Capturing the essence of a subject is at the centre of her practice.

Born in Chatham, Kent, she first studied textile design at Manchester Metropolitan University and went on to take a Master's in Ceramic Design at the Royal College of Art in London. Straight after graduating she was commissioned to design ceramic tile murals for South Kensington Underground Station, and this was followed by tableware designs for Wedgwood and a growing body of work for international clients.

After years as a freelance illustrator in London, she moved in 2006 to Eye, in the Suffolk countryside, which has since provided much of the subject matter for her painting. A keen gardener, she was commissioned by Running Press in Philadelphia to record a full year in her garden, season by season, published as 'The Painted Garden: A Year in Words and Watercolors'. The produce of the same garden inspired 'The Painted Garden Cookbook', for which she both wrote the recipes and painted the illustrations, and she has also written and illustrated 'Paint - A Year of Nature in Words and Colour', a journal following the unfolding pattern of the seasons.

Her watercolour illustration has been commissioned internationally for packaging, book and magazine publishing, advertising and stationery, for clients including Waitrose, Tesco, Marks & Spencer, Running Press, Grand Central Publishing, BBDO, Country Living Magazine, Boston Beer Company and Galison. She has exhibited in the open exhibitions of the Royal Watercolour Society and the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolours in London. Away from the studio she gardens, keeps chickens and cooks, and writes a blog about life in rural Suffolk.